Off Topic » ball in December. Dalton has been inconsi

LOS ANGELES -- Dustin Johnson moved down the coast of California and brought his game with him Thursday in the Northern Trust Open. So did Jimmy Walker. Johnson made six birdies on a warm, sunny day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead when the opening round was suspended by darkness. Walker birdied his last three holes and was in the large group at 67 that included Francesco Molinari of Italy and Torrey Pines winner Scott Stallings. Four days ago, Johnson closed with a 66 in the grey, cold weather of Pebble Beach to finish one shot behind Walker. In conditions that could not have been any different -- and could not have been any better -- he made birdie on all of the par 5s at Riviera and only had one bogey on his card, at the long par-3 fourth. The only comparison was the quality of his golf. "It was cold, windy and wet at Pebble on Sunday. Here, its not a lot of wind and perfect conditions. Its sunny and a really nice temperatures," Johnson said. "Its still golf, though. Youve still got to adjust no matter what youre doing." That was no trouble for Walker, whose victory in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am was his third of the season. He drove his RV down from the Monterey Peninsula, got up at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday to appear on Golf Channel, and then went right back to work. Walker was in the middle of the pack until his tee shot on the par-3 16th settled just over a foot from the cup. He nearly reached the par-5 17th in two to set up a simple birdie, then finished with one of his best shots -- an 8-iron from 184 yards out of a flyer lie in the rough to the back of the green and a 30-foot putt. "Its four more days of golf," Walker said. "You can ride the momentum of really good play. But everyone started at even and you just have to be like, Lets go get it again." It was a glorious day off Sunset Boulevard, and Riviera was in ideal shape -- firm and fast, particularly on the greens. The warmth meant a little more distance, such as the 349-yard tee shot Johnson hammered down the middle of 13th fairway, a slight dogleg left framed by eucalyptus trees. That left him only 97 yards, and he stuffed it. And on the par-5 17th -- 608 yards up the hill, no help from wind -- he reached it in two and had a two-putt from just over 20 feet. His only glitch was coming up just short of the green and in the bunker on the 225-yard fourth. Johnson isnt playing a lot this season, but when he does, he plays well. He already has a win at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. He shared the 54-hole lead at Kapalua and tied for sixth, and then took off four weeks before returning at Pebble Beach. That was a good sign for Johnson, who said he doesnt have a good history of playing well in the first event after a long break. "This time, I stayed with it. I worked hard at home," Johnson said. "It was tough at Pebble because of the weather, and it was hard to keep your concentration." Life is bliss right now for Walker, who is going for his third win in California this season, starting with the Frys.com Open at CordeValle in October. The only struggle was a bogey on the par-5 11th when his tee shot just missed the fairway and buried in a small indentation in the long grass. He followed that with another bogey on the tough 12th, and then rallied at the end. "I dont know what its like for some of those guys that are winning 40 times and they have done this a ton," Walker said. "But right now, enjoy it. Its fun. Its a good place to be." Jim Furyk, Keegan Bradley and Rickie Fowler were among those at 68. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., opened with a 1-under 70. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., shot a 71. Jordan Spieth looked as though he might be among the leaders after holing out from 125 yards for eagle on No. 7 to reach 3 under. He was in position for a birdie on the 11th until leaving a shot in the greenside bunker and missing the par putt. Spieth caught a huge break on the next hole when his tee shot was hooking out-of-bounds until hitting a tree, though he had to scramble for bogey. He also made three par putts in the 5-foot range to hold it together, but dropped a shot on the 18th when he tried to punch a hybrid around some Eucalyptus trees. He had a 73. Spieth was playing with Fred Couples -- the 20-year-old Texan was born a year after Couples won the Masters -- and the old guy held his own. Couples had a lost ball on his second shot at No. 11 and made double bogey, rallied with two birdies and then made bogey on the final hole for a 72. Couples is playing the Northern Trust Open for the 32nd time. DIVOTS: The 10th hole was perilous as ever at 314 yards, especially for Scott Verplank. He took two shots from the front bunker and three from the back on his way to an 8. "That was fun," Verplank said. The rest of the day wasnt. The 49-year-old Verplank, who has been battling injuries the last few years, withdrew with a bad back. ... Billy Hurley missed last week at Pebble Beach because his wife, Heather, gave birth to their first daughter (and third child), Madison Joy. Then, he got in as an alternate when Harrison Frazar withdrew. Hurley opened with a 70. John Henson Jersey . Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Buddy Robinson scored 43 seconds apart in the second period to lead the Binghamton Senators to a 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs in American Hockey League action Friday night at the Bell Centre. Vin Baker Jersey .com) - Richard Shermans two interceptions highlighted a dominant defensive effort, as the Seattle Seahawks routed the San Francisco 49ers in a highly anticipated NFC West Thanksgiving clash. http://www.cheapbucksjerseys.com/?tag=ch...ilyasova-jersey. -- Raiders wide receiver Jacoby Ford made it through a third straight practice without any setbacks and expects to play in Oaklands regular-season finale against San Diego. Cheap NBA Jerseys . Fans can also watch the game on the newly launched TSN GO (currently available to Bell TV and Rogers customers), which gives TSN subscribers the freedom to live stream the networks programming from their smartphones, tablets, and computers at no additional charge – just as they would watch Canadas Sports Leader on TV at home. The following week, MLS ON TSN is at BMO Field in Toronto to deliver live coverage of TFCs home opener vs. D.C. United on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 p. Oscar Robertson Jersey . -- Manchester United thrilled a record crowd with a brilliant opening goal -- and even Cristiano Ronaldos unexpected entrance proved futile for Real Madrid.(SportsNetwork.com) - The final regular-season game of the 2014 NFL season will decide the AFC North. Both the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers have already clinched postseason berths but the North division crown and the corresponding home playoff game it entails will be at stake when the teams square off at Heinz Field Sunday night. After two consecutive years on the outside looking in at the playoffs the Steelers, who own an NFL record six Super Bowl titles, are relevant again after clinching a spot in the dance with a 20-12 home win over Kansas City last Sunday. Ben Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass in the triumph and Pittsburghs defense held strong as the Steelers secured at least a wild-card berth. Pittsburgh held the Chiefs out of the end zone and limited them to four Cairo Santos field goals. A lot of good efforts by a lot of people, said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. We realized what next week is. Its a big week for us. The Steelers also exacted revenge on the Chiefs for last season. In the final week of 2013, Kansas City rested the majority of its starters in a 27-24 overtime loss to San Diego. That ultimately knocked Pittsburgh out of playoff contention. Roethlisberger completed 18-of-25 passes for 220 yards while MVP candidate LeVeon Bell rushed 20 times for 63 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburghs third consecutive win. The Bengals, meanwhile, joined the Steelers in the AFC playoffs a day later when Jeremy Hill rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown and Dre Kirkpatrick posted two interceptions of Peyton Manning as Cincinnati clinched a playoff spot for a fourth straight season with a 37-28 win over the Denver Broncos on Monday night. We answered a lot of questions, especially on this Monday night thing, defensive tackle Domata Peko said referring to the teams previous woes on nationally televised games. Everybody was talking about it. We kept it in- house and just got it done. Were just getting started. Andy Dalton completed 17-of-26 passes for 146 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Bengals while Dre Kirkpatrick intercepted a pair of Peyton Manning passes, one going for a pick-six. Im very proud of our guys tonight for our resiliency, our ability to come back after negative plays and put positive plays and string them together, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. Obviously, things to work on and do, but were still in position, still controlling our destiny, and thats all we can ask for at this point in the year. Cincinnati still has an outside chance for the AFCs No. 2 seed if its able to get a franchise-record fifth straight road win here, while the Steelers already know they will be playing on wild-card weekend but are looking to avoid packing. Pittsburgh leads its all-time series with the Bengals by a significant 54-34 margin and has won seven of the past nine matchups, including a 42-21 blowout in Cincinnati on Dec. 7 behind Bells 235 scrimmage yards and three TDs. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Things have changed dramatically in Pittsburgh and these Steelers are all about an explosive offense led by a new breed of triplets in Roethlisberger, Bell and receiver Antonio Brown. Pittsburgh is second in the NFL in total offense, piling up 415.4 yards per game, less than one-yard short of league-leading New Orleans. Big Ben and Co. are also second when passing the football (300.5 ypg) and 13th when running it (114.9 ypg). Roethlisberger already has compiled a single-season club record 4,635 ppassing yards and needs just one more TD pass to become the first player in franchise history with 250 for his career.dddddddddddd The veteran has been especially hot in the second half, throwing for 3,042 yards in his past nine games (338.0 per game) with a 110.4 passer rating over that span. Brown is his top target and leads the NFL with 122 receptions, needing just two more to surpass Herman Moore (123 in 1995) and Wes Welker (123 in 2009) for the second-most in a season in NFL annals. Browns consistency really stands out as he has caught five or more balls for 50-plus yards in 31 consecutive games, the longest streak in NFL history. Bell, meanwhile, has had a breakout season, leading the AFC with 2,115 scrimmage yards (1,341 rushing, 774 receiving), already a single-season Steelers record. The Michigan State product is, perhaps, the most patient runner in football with an innate ability to find the hole and cut back thanks to his tremendous feet. The Bengals defense trying to stop that triumvirate is 22nd in the NFL, far better at stopping the pass than the run. The Cincy stop unit is middle of the road against teams moving it through the air but it allows 122.1 ypg on the ground and Bell lit them up in space earlier this month. They know us and we know them, Tomlin admitted. Its a big football game. Its going to be a good, classic AFC North football game. How else would you want it? I know our guys are excited. Win or lose Cincinnati is headed to the postseason for a franchise-record fourth consecutive season, a run which has correlated with Dalton taking over the team. The problem is that the Bengals are 0-3 when they get there so changing that narrative is paramount, making this a virtual must win to get the home playoff game. I wouldnt want it any other way, said Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry. Its always good to be playing meaningful football in December. Dalton has been inconsistent at times this season with part of the problem being the absences of targets like Marvin Jones and Tyler Eifert but the Red Rifle has generally played well against the Steelers, passing for 812 yards with five TDs and no picks and a 95.0 passer rating in his last three games against Pittsburgh. A resurgent running game behind Hill should only help. The former LSU star has 829 rushing yards in his last eight games (103.6 per game) with six TDs and leads all NFL rookies in rushing yards (1,024) rush TDs (nine). We just have a new attitude, Bengals star left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. The running game has really sparked kind of a feistiness, a will to make something happen for us. At times, we havent had that for whatever reason. The Steelers defense isnt what it once was, allowing 354.5 yards per game (20th) but veteran coordinator Dick LeBeau has a host of playmakers at the linebacker position. Veteran James Harrison, who spent 2013 with the Bengals before retuning to Pittsburgh, has 5 1/2 sacks in his past six games while Pro Bowl selection Lawrence Timmons leads the team with 121 tackles. OVERALL ANALYSIS The Steelers should have a little too much horsepower for a Bengals team that has taken a step back on the defensive side of the football after losing former coordinator Mike Zimmer to the head coaching job in Minnesota. Were going to treat (this) like a playoff game like weve had the last three weeks, Roethlisberger said. We still have work to do. 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